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Category Archives: Ken Kovash

It’s been two months now since I had my EPI-LASIK surgery and I have to say I’m extremely happy with the result. I’m beginning to see things clearly now and have a different perspective on things!

EPI-LASIK isn’t like the traditional LASIK where they cut a slit in your cornea and operate with laser behind the lid. Instead, EPI-LASIK operates straight on the surface of the eye. This means that it’s much safer (no need to cut in the eye!), and as a result, you don’t risk cutting the nerves that control eye fluids, something which tends to make LASIK patients suffer from dry eyes. More info about EPI-LASIK can be found here (warning: marketing material).

To anyone who is considering going through this procedure, here’s a bit of info on how it works and what to expect:

The actual surgery was completely painless and not at all as scary as I thought. The machine handled everything itself, and the only thing the doctor actually did was dropping cooling and disinfecting drops into the eyes before and after the laser did its job.

After the laser was done, they put a protective contact lens on the eye. Immediately after the surgery, I could see much better than I could without glasses before.

About 20 minutes after the surgery, the eyes started to itch and I became sensitive to light.

The following 48 hours were pretty tough with tears running down my cheeks, extreme light sensitivity and itching/painful eyes. I spent most of the time just lying in bed listening to music with my eyes shut. (Christina Aguilera’s Hurt was played more often that I would like to admit; maybe my state of mind made me more receptive to emotional lyrics?)

After these 48 hours, I woke up with essentially no pain at all. It felt a bit like wearing contact lenses for too many hours, which of course was exactly the case too, since I had to wear the protective contact lens for about five days.

I was still sensitive to light during the third day, but on day four it was all gone.

After five days (the day before Christmas Eve), I visited the optician again and could finally remove the protective contact lens. From there on, it was as if the surgery never happened!

This is easily the best investment I’ve ever done to myself (aside from making Sofie my girlfriend). So far, the vision hasn’t really stabilized, and some days my left eye is better than the right, and then the next day it has changed. I still don’t see perfectly, but it’s good enough that I almost never think about it. If Ken pushed me to give a number, I’d say my vision is at 97% right now.

According to the doctor, the healing process can take up to a whole year, so it’s too early to tell what the end result will be — we will see! But even if it doesn’t get any better than this, it’s still better than I had with contact lenses, and without the dry eyes and hassle of taking them in and out of your eyes every day.

See you later!

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Today I’d like to share a very personal story that I hold dearly to my heart. It’s one of those mind-blowing moments that in an instant changes everything for the better and makes you wonder if there isn’t a great purpose of life after all. Indeed, I’m talking about the day I first met Ken Kovash.

I remember it as if it were yesterday; I was at this party and had already had the first beer of the evening. While contemplating ordering another beer, I thought to myself: “great success!” But little did I know that I was about to experience something that would forever change my definition of Great Success. The evening had hardly even started.

As I was happily walking back to my table with a second beer in my hand after ending a brief conversation with an acquaintance at the bar, it suddenly just happened. There he was, Ken Kovash, standing by himself in a corner, looking at people around him almost as if he was monitoring them. It was surreal; I was there at the same party as Ken Kovash! Few people there seemed to realize that they were being mentally herded like cattle by this mysterious man; they were merely chatting about the elementary things in life, as if they were completely unaware of their ongoing Near-Ken-Kovash experience. Were they just programmed to be ignorant? Was this all just a dream?

The seconds that followed are somewhat blurry to me, but I will never forget the feeling that struck me when he suddenly looked my way. Yes, Ken Kovash was looking straight at me! My legs were shaking. I felt just like, I imagine, a confused hare standing on a railroad track in the middle of a dark, cold night — paralyzed, powerless, frightened — blindly staring into the headlights of the rapidly approaching freight train that in this grand metaphor was Ken Kovash. The way he looked at me, it was as if he was silently calculating and estimating every measurable property — my age, my salary, perhaps even the time I had left to live. But just like you could imagine, he did it in a good way, as if he was looking after me. He gave me a brief (0.70 x 10-9 seconds long, the transition time between the two lowest states of the hydrogen atom) smile as I walked up to him, and the rest is history.

Ken and me. Notice how happy and thankful I am over this incredible opportunity; I knew I wasn’t worthy.

Everything in my life changed after this. I shared some of my love for Ken in a blog post last year that became the start of the Ken Kovash Day. I feel so much stronger, happier, and prouder than ever before. It is truly one of those magical moments that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Today is Ken Kovash Day 2008. Join the movement, go to KenKovash.com and share your excitement!